I would really like to do a layout of the Donner Pass in HO. The actual size would be roughly 16'x4' with an access hole in the middle to run the trains and Rail watch my layout
I have always had this idea... If I had...a large enough space, and an unlimited budget... I would create a map of the US with all of the major cities, rivers, mountain ranges, and rail lines modeled. I think I would pick the Transition Era...steam, diesel, Route 66, drive ins (small flatscreen monitors that work), etc. etc. When I say big, I mean BIG...something like 125 x 200. Originate coal unit trains out of the Powder River Basin and run them all the way to Florida while dodging AMTRAK (Or making AMTRAK take the hole lol).
layout I would like to do the Southern Railway in N scale in the early 70s from the Colbert Steam plant in the west with the Pride coal loader modeled fairly accurately(with an empties in loads out setup). The L&N connection in Sheffield over the river, Sheffield yard, The reynolds aluminum facilities north of the yard. Then east to decatur and the lift bridge over the Tennessee river and the mid river wye that the north branch leads to staging representing Nashville and the south leg goes on to Huntsville. If space was available I would model some of the Redstone arsenal and end the sceniced portion with the old depot and roundhouse in Huntsville. The main would then enter staging representing Chattanooga and points east. I would also like to pick one or two of the huge industrial facilities on the river served from smaller yards in Decatur.
Same here. The one I'm building. It's in a 21' x 21' room that is heated and air conditioned. It is attached to the house but far enough away from the bedrooms so I don't wake the wife when I turn up the rock music to work on the layout (very important). Also has a bathroom and kitchen in case I get in the doghouse (train room) with the wife.
When (if) I retire and the house is big enough (the basement is mine); my dream layout is the transition era. C&O from coal fields in West Virginia/Kentucky to the coal docks East in Hampton Roads and to the coal docks West on the Great Lakes. Interchange with B&O and N&W. If enough space, I would model both the C&O Mountain Subdivision and James River Subdivision. Until then, I'll keep on working.
My "dream layout" would include a dream house. The layout would be N, still B&M or maybe CB&Q, depending on where I was living. I would build the layout in a large building that would be finished and seperate from the main house. The layout room would house a moderate size point to point with a small office used for dispatch and enough operations to keep a few guys busy. Just off the layout room would be my workshop for the airbrushing and building, than the larger room for the two railfan Jeeps, my current Wrangler and my future 1946 CJ-2A:shade: so they would be ready for an afternoon of railfaning, but we might not use them cause all of this would have a patio right next to the mainline of the BNSF. Ahh dreams.... Jim
You scare me sometimes. I was working over in my head a thread like this - and one on yards too. I have two dream layouts. One is 2'x4' switching layout: The 2nd is the open budget type. It includes: Room for 50 car trains A long main with switching off of it in areas Industrial areas Docks for all kinds of ships Mountains Places to do empties in / loads out Hyper modern cities Rural towns Separate narrow gauge Trolley lines Separate bullet train lines between cities DCC and DC when I want it A roster of "Grey and Grandure" locomotives / cars A few trains worth of "Pink Fox Lines" .... I could go on but I think I would hit the max allowed in one of these boxes.
My dream layout- my version of the Santa Fe running THROUGH a city that is a combination of the natural geography of Houston but the Spanish-flavor of San Antonio, and running to the piney woods 50 miles north of Houston and to an island seaport like Galveston on the coast. Would take a room maybe 27 by 40 in N scale---with a stairway entry so no break for door entrance is necessary. I have built the Johnston piney woods courthouse square town scene as part of a 3 x 7 foot layout... I have built the blimp base as a 2 x 3 foot standalone portable layout. And I am currently building the Island Seaport to fill an 11 foot square space, including the "two mile long" causeway from the mainline. But I don't think I will ever be able to build it all at once. But I can dream. And I can imagine the traffic at Island Seaport is coming and going to and from the other scenes I have imagined.
I have two, first would be a 16'x20' foot HOn3 version of the Silverton Branch of the DRGW. Other would be something like a 30'x60' HO scale version of the Santa Fe through Kansas in the 70's. Long grain and piggy back trans with tons of SD40s, SD40-2s and SD45s along with CF7s, GP7 rebuilds and GP 20 rebuilds.
Interesting. I'm planning to do the PC Mohawk division on a two door layout. May actually get to it sometime. However, this year is devoted to working on the retirement fund. Good luck. Frank
I would go with Horibly Oversize and model southern California with th main focus on SP's Colton yard and Santa Fe's San Bernardino yard. I would likely back date to include the era when the mills around the Colton Diamond were active and the Riverside area was still dealing with Citrus loads. This may require some modelers liscence with era adjustments, but its my layout. Cajon with the Palmdale cut off and the lines through Victoville would be included. I would also run east some to Indio and through the Santa Anna canyon and Pomona on the west side. But then again, I could.....
More thoughts: Oh, and I would hire 20 N Scalers from Train Board to help build it. It would be overlooking a large freight yard in the south west. Figures, figures and more figures of people doing everything people do. It would have places of worship of almost every type It would have time of day related lighting The "fast clock" would be 1:1 (yes, I know) Humor, lots and lots of humor ... to be continued
